At the time of the Neronian persecution, St. Peter was fleeing Rome along the Appian Way. Our Lord appeared to him and St. Peter asked Jesus, "Domine, quo vadis?" - Lord, where are you going? - to which Jesus replied, "I am going to Rome to be crucified a second time." The Apostle recognized this gentle rebuke and went back into the City where he was imprisoned and martyred for the Faith.

Saturday, 6 January 2007

(Behold the Lord the Ruler is come : and the Kingdom is in His hand, and power, and dominion. Give to the king Thy judgment, O God : and to the king's son Thy justice.)

Is 60,1 Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem: for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.2 For behold darkness shall cover the earth, and a mist the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.3 And the Gentiles shall walk in thy light, and kings in the brightness of thy rising.4 Lift up thy eyes round about, and see: all these are gathered together, they are come to thee: thy sons shall come from afar, and thy daughters shall rise up at thy side.5 Then shalt thou see, and abound, and thy heart shall wonder and be enlarged, when the multitude of the sea shall be converted to thee, the strength of the Gentiles shall come to thee.6 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Madian and Epha: all they from Saba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense: and shewing forth praise to the Lord.

I pray that this Feast will be the beginning of a new reign for Christ the King in His Church and in the world. As His glory shone upon Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, may it shine upon eternal Rome once more, so that the darkness which has gathered there these last 40 years may be finally dispelled.

As I write, we await the Motu Proprio from the Holy Father which will give greater freedom to the venerable Mass of St Pius V. A Holy Mass that is truly worthy of a King would be a great gift to give Him on this Feast, but I fear that we will have to wait a while longer yet. I am told that the Motu Proprio will be ready for promulgation in the next seven days, but it will be important to get the various translations right first - especially the translation into French!

This Mass has been described as "the most beautiful thing this side of heaven" and it formed the holiest part of the Church's patrimony for nearly 1,500 years. How have we come to this present pass where what was so holy and untouchable only 40 years ago is now treated with such derision, disdain and disregard by those who were commissioned by Our Lord to protect and preserve what had been handed on to them?

What was once the source of unity for the entire Latin Church throughout the world is now greeted by French bishops with shrill catcalls of "divisive", "schismatic" and "betrayal of Vatican II". These same men who have managed to destroy any semblance of unity in the new rite by conniving to approve over 300 different "Eucharistic Prayers" have the nerve to claim that the old rite will cause disunity! The world is surely turned on it's head - or rather the world has surely entered the Church.

And this, I fear, is at the root of the problems which we face today. The warnings of Our Lord about detachment from the world which is hostile to the Reign of God, have been put aside by those who know better than He. Men of the world rather than men of the Church are currently in the ascendancy, and how they rant and rebel against the Kingdom which is not of this world? Tearing down what is holy, they have raised up their idol of man and are determined to prevent the King from regaining His throne.

Their rule is but temporary, however, for the world is sterile and decaying and has not the force of Life to propagate itself. Their empty churches, the apostasy of those surrendered into their negligent care, are all testimony to the mortality of their corrupt rule. "Subito" - very soon - they will be forced to behold that "Advenit Dominator Dominis : et regnum in manu ejus" - the Lord the Ruler is come : and the kingdom is in His hand!

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Panagia

The Council of Florence (A.D. 1438-1445) From Cantate Domino — Papal Bull of Pope Eugene IV

It (the sacrosanct Roman Church) firmly believes, professes, and proclaims that those not living within the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics cannot become participants in eternal life, but will depart "into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels" [Matt. 25:41], unless before the end of life the same have been added to the flock; and that the unity of the ecclesiastical body is so strong that only to those remaining in it are the sacraments of the Church of benefit for salvation, and do fastings, almsgiving, and other functions of piety and exercises of Christian service produce eternal reward, and that no one, whatever almsgiving he has practiced, even if he has shed blood for the name of Christ, can be saved, unless he has remained in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church.